Almost 25 years have passed since James Lee Tilley was gunned down as he walked on a rural road in western Tuscaloosa County.

Investigators said for years that they had suspects but not enough information to file charges. They even named a suspect two years ago: Terry Ray “Tico” Snow, a convict with an extensive criminal history.

On Tuesday, investigators with the Tuscaloosa County Metro Homicide Unit were able to call Tilley’s family with news of an arrest. The squad’s Cold Case Unit that formed earlier this year took another look at the case.

“They re-examined the evidence, talked with witnesses again and found new ones,” said homicide unit commander Capt. Loyd Baker. Snow was charged Monday at the St. Clair Correctional Facility, where he is serving a 15-year sentence for attempted murder. He was found guilty for shooting into a car occupied by his sister.

Snow was charged with the 1987 killing of his 28-year-old girlfriend by throwing her from a bridge that borders Greene and Hale counties. The charges were dismissed because of a lack of evidence.

Tilley was shot Nov. 11 as he walked on Alabama Highway 140 and Tuscaloosa County Road 15. The four foot, 10 inch tall 29-year-old was shot five times, from five different angles, with a .357 magnum.

“From the manner in which he was killed, he had made someone very mad,” former Tuscaloosa County Homicide Unit Chief Warren Miller told The Tuscaloosa News at the time. “It looks something like an execution-style killing.”

Robbery wasn’t a suspected motive because Tilley wasn’t known to carry much cash. There was no sign of an argument or scuffle.

Tilley’s family described him as someone who liked to have fun and made money doing odd jobs. He worked at a lounge in Northport and a hunting club on U.S. Highway 82. On the night he was killed, Tilley rode with a friend from a nearby truck stop to the Shiloh Lounge and later to the hunting club.

He was kicked out of the hunting club after a scuffle that took place inside.
A witness reported seeing a suspect vehicle around 1 a.m. the next morning. Another neighbor heard five shots before another neighbor found Tilley dead, shot twice in the chest, once in the head, once in the lower neck and once in the stomach.

A month later, three men were arrested for night hunting in the Elrod area. Officers confiscated a handgun that they said may have been used in the killing.